Deeper Than the Sea
by xNeverShoutNeverx
Summary: A 21st century girl wants an escape from her everyday life, so she does a weird ritual. Yet, that ritual sends her back in time to the Age of Piracy. Now, with some possibly unwanted help, she must find a way back home and love was NOT part of the plan.
1. Prologue

I _have been on such a Pirates of the Caribbean lately and I've been working on this story for a while and I couldn't resist in posting it. Thus, here it is! The first segment of "Deeper Than the Sea"! It is a JackxOC story and it is before Dead Man's Dead and after Curse of the Black Pearl. This story will change the storylines a bit, so be warned. Anyway, this story is inspired by my love for Jack Sparrow (one of my favorite Johnny Depp characters) and by "Goddess of the Sea" from the "Goddess Summoning series" by P.C. Cast. I absolutely love her stuff. Now, I hope you enjoy this idea, if you do PLEASE REVIEW! Constructive criticism is welcomed, but flaming is now as it is inappropiate--don't like, don't read._

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own POTC or Captain Jack Sparrow...god, I wish I did. -_-;_

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**Prologue**

Despite having lost her lover at a young age and having to be a bird more often than not, Alcyone loved being the goddess of the sea. Then again, who wouldn't love being a deity of such? She had loyal and amusing nymphs to entertain her, the sea was endless for her to fly across, she was immortal, and best of all, there were pirates.

Now, most wouldn't think that pirates were one of her favorite things about being a sea goddess since pirates were scurvy dogs who did various wrongful deeds. And that was all very true, most pirates disgusted her. However, there were a few pirates that were in her favor. They did wrongful deeds yet, had more morals than some and truly loved the sea, not abusing it.

One such pirate was...

"Captain Jack Sparrow," a lovely water nymph with long golden hair piped up, her voice a pleasant yet, slightly whiny soprano.

Alcyone peered to the crowd of water nymphs on the shore of the goddess' hidden and private shores. The goddess' head, which at the moment was in the form of a beautiful kingfisher bird, cocked to the side. She chirped, the sound of a bird, but the nymphs understood immediately, turning their heads to her.

"_What about Sparrow?_" Alcyone had asked curiously, wondering what her favorite pirate had done now—he was always getting into trouble since his luck wasn't quite good and because he basically searched for it.

The blonde nymph moved to her goddess, the three other nymphs having brown, red, and black hair following their companion. The fair-haired one spoke with a deep frown on her pouty lips, "It seems he has been teasing the mermaids again. He broke another's heart."

Alcyone fluttered her wings in frustration and disappointment. She adored the eccentric pirate, but his charming ways were one of the things that got him into trouble. Captain Jack Sparrow was a womanizer and that didn't only count mortal women. More than once had a female creature of her oceans—nymphs, mermaids, and so on—come to her in tears because he had broken their heart. Even Alcyone had to admit she was charmed by him, but had a much clearer head when it came to such things.

"_That man is becoming a problem._" Alcyone mused aloud. The words didn't come out of her small beak since they were being told telepathically. "_He may need to be taught a lesson._"

The water nymphs frowned and frantically said to the tiny bird, "Oh! Please don't punish him harshly, Goddess!"

See? Even they had been swayed by the mischievous, witty, and strange man.

"_Don't fret, my children. Sparrow's punishment shall not be too dour; he is a mortal under my favor and of my deep adoration. He just needs to know how to respect women. He needs to realize they are equals._" Alcyone reassured gently, motherly.

The nymphs exchanged looks, confused, before turning to the kingfisher. "How will you do such, Goddess?" the brunette asked. The others nodded alongside her.

Alcyone chirped, flapping her wings, her bird noises sounding a lot like laughter. "_How else? With a woman of course! A child of the sea, one with a good and noble heart. Wise beyond her years and takes great responsibility in her duties. An other worldly daughter of mine._"

The nymphs stared at her quizzically.

"Who?" the redhead questioned.

"When?" the inky-haired nymph inquired.

"How?" the blonde queried.

The goddess laughed again. "_Now, now, my dear daughters. Do not fret. Trust in me._"

"Of course, Goddess! We have complete faith in your very wise decisions!" they exclaimed.

"_I know, I know. The child of the sea will be uncovered soon. I promise. For now, you all must wait along with me until my daughter makes herself known._" Alcyone told them all.

"Yes, Goddess." the nymphs chimed as once with pleased nods.

Alcyone inwardly smiled and flapped her wings once. _It is only a matter of time..._


	2. 1: Need of a Change

_Thanks to the one person who reviewed and for those who favored this story—thanks soooooo much! ^-^ Anyway, here's chapter one. Unfortunately, there is no Jack or anyone. Just my main OC in this chapter, but this gives you all a little insight her life. I hope you all enjoy and if you do, PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks!_

_**Warning:**__** This takes place after Curse of the Black Pearl, but before Dead Man's Chest. I will also be altering their storylines a bit to accommodate my story. As well, this story was inspired by P.C. Cast's "Goddess of the Sea" novel from her "Goddess Summoning" series—check them out!**_

_**Disclaimer:**__** I do NOT own POTC, I wish I did 'cuz I so wanna be a pirate and definitely wanna be Jack's one and only wench.**_

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**Chapter One: Need of a Change**

I wasn't normally one to complain often.

Okay, that was a lie.

I complained quite often. Maybe not out loud, but I did complain a lot.

But, personally, with the way things had gone that week, I thought I had every right to do so.

First starters, school had always been a pain, but every bad time I had had in my academic career couldn't compare to school that week.

All of my professors had decided to have a test every day. So that meant I had to studied frivolously along with the piles of homework they had given my peers and I—mountains of ridiculously difficult homework every night.

Next came the people in my life.

My father came first. Now, I loved the man, I mean, he was my father after all. But, recently, he had became a huge annoyance. Then again, that may not have been entirely his fault. It was _hers_. My step-mother's fault. She was a woman I positively hated, so superficial, but I may have just resented her because she was trying to replace my late mother—something she could never do. Either way, all my father's time was spent making her happy. He and she were even going on a cruise without me and it was my twenty-first birthday soon! Two days to be exact!

After my father, were my friends. Like my father, I loved my friends. They could always make me laugh and make me feel better when I was done, which it what they were doing, but they were too busy being a bunch an immature children. I'm not even entirely sure what had occurred, but one day, when I had started attending classes again—I had a nasty asthma attack last week—my friends weren't friends anyone. One is a fight with another, two were ignoring another three, and so on so forth. In other words, all of my friends hated each other leaving me in the middle, not knowing what to do—I wasn't going to choose sides, I didn't do that with friends, especially when they were being stupid.

After my friends, was my boyfriend. Oh, no, wait. I should say EX-boyfriend. I had found out two days ago, he was cheating on me with another girl and a younger one at that—she was a freshman in a college and I was a junior in college. And the reason he was with her was because she was giving him something I wouldn't: sex. It was embarrassing to say, especially when a majority of my friends weren't, but I was a virgin and I wasn't one to give it up easily. My boyfriend—ex-boyfriend, sorry—and I had only been dating for two months and that was not nearly long enough for me to give my innocence up to someone. Besides, he didn't love me and I didn't love him. If we had been dating longer than that was a different story. I may have had morals, but I thought waiting until marriage was unrealistic for me—like my mother used to say, as strangely as it will sound coming from a mom, "Do a test drive before buying the car".

After my boyfriend—goddammit, EX-boyfriend—came my swimming and gymnastics coaches. My swimming and gymnastics coaches weren't the problem themselves. No, I adored those women, they were like the awesome aunts I wished I had. The problem was their temporary placements. See, my swimming and gymnastics coaches were married—yeah, they were women and were married, deal with it—and had recently adopted and little baby boy—real cute. Thus, for the first few months of his life, they both wanted to stay at home with him, so they were basically on maternity leave and that meant temporary replacements for them. My replacement coach for swimming was a...was a...I don't like cursing, my mother didn't like it, but...she was a bitch. She was overly stern and pushed my teammates and I _waaay_ too hard. And that meant a lot coming from me since I absolutely loved swimming and always thought our practices so be longer and harder, but that woman—I mean, dictator—was pushing it. Then, there was my replacement gymnastics coach. If my swimming coach worked us too much than my gymnastic coach didn't work us enough. She was probably the most incompetent woman I had ever met and I was being nice. Either way, I could not stand either one of them and they were making my two favorite sports—swimming being number one—downright unbearable.

I was more than thrilled when the weekend came around. Two whole days without any disturbances (annoying people or stupid school) in my beautiful studio apartment at Mt. Airy Arms near my college, Arcadia. Maybe I could even drive up to New Jersey and go to Wildwood for some sea and extra relaxation.

Oh, yeah, that sounded amazing. Who said be independent and secluded, even for just a little while, had no upsides?

Sighing deeply, I entered my home and tossed my heavy backpack aside, not caring where it landed. As well, I kicked off my low-top Converse with a disgruntled huff before making my way to my living room through my small, but quaint kitchen.

My loveseat couch and TV was definitely a sight for sore eyes. Smiling a bit sleepily, I plopped down on the couch, lounged comfortably against the autumn leaf orange cushions, propped my feet on the coffee table, and turned on the television. My grin only widened when I saw _Avatar: the Last Airbender_ was on.

Yeah, it was a child's show—though, I wondered at times—and I had seen the entire series more than twice, but it was mad good.

For a good while, I watched the tiny marathon of _NickToons_ until my stomach growled telling that it was a good time to serve up some dinner for myself. I exhaled deeply and rose to my striped socked feet and sluggishly trudged to the kitchen.

I opened my fridge only to frown at the scarce amount of nourishment I had found. All I had left was a liter of _Pepsi_, a couple of water bottles, some Lindt chocolate, a slice of New York styled Cheesecake, and half of a turkey, mayonnaise, and bacon sandwich. I guess with everything that had gone on that week and with me being ill last week, I hadn't had much time to restock my refrigerator.

"Guess, I'll have to go to the store soon." I said aloud.

I took out the sandwich, the cheesecake, and the Pepsi to place them all on my kitchen counter. I yanked the saran wrap off the sandwich and the cheesecake and grabbed a cup from the cabinet. After placing the food on a plate and pouring the soda in a cup, I walked back to the living room just as _Fairly Odd Parents _came on.

It was going to be a long and uneventful night.

Or so I had thought.

Apparently tonight, my subconscious wasn't going to be satisfied with just eating food and watching TV until I tired myself out.

Some part of me wanted to do some free reading. It had been a long time since I actually picked up a book that wasn't assigned by a teacher and recently, I had gone to the bookstore to purchase a bunch of new books.

I went to the closest and opened the door to kneel down at the _Barnes N' Noble_ bag, full of books. I searched through the titles for what that I wanted to read: _The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Vampire Academy, Witch and Wizard, _and_ Wicked._ I shook my head, thinking I didn't want to start reading any of those; I just wasn't in the mood. So then what was I going to read? I didn't feel like rereading something.

I scowled.

That was until I remembered that besides stopping at _Barnes N' Noble_, I had stopped at an old bookstore that sold very old books, first edition classics, and books I had never heard of. I couldn't restrain myself from going inside and seeing if they had any first-editions I didn't own already—one of my hobbies was collecting such books as weird as that sounded for someone my age.

I fished further into my closet pushing aside coats, sneakers, boots, and sandals, I searched for the shopping bag from the old bookstore. Ultimately, I found it all the way in the back and pulled it out with a bit of difficulty to place it in my lap making me grunt at how heavy it was.

I untied the top and peered inside to only see one book. I arched a brow, finding it strange that I had purchased one, but when I lifted the book out of the bag, I realized why it had been the only one I had bought. The second I touched it, my fingers tingled and a small spark shot through my veins.

I smiled and turned the book in my pale hands so that I could see the front cover. The book was a dark royal blue with think golden pages of fine paper and on the paper was neatly written words in lovely black ink. The title was in beautiful golden writing saying: _Myths of Every Time and of Everywhere._

I had always loved myths. Stories of various gods and goddesses of different countries, different magical monsters and creatures, and tales of how certain every day things came to be with a fantasy-like twist. They thrilled me to the core. And I guess a very small and childish part of me wished they were true. I mean, who wouldn't love such things being real? Magic coming to life and really that's what life needed a little more of: magic.

And my life could definitely use some magic. A little change of sorts.

Beaming foolishly, I scrambled to my feet and went back to my couch. The book laid opened on my thighs as I glanced through the index for what I wanted to read first. That was until my eyes landed on "Goddesses". I smiled.

I wanted to read about them. What girl wouldn't? What sane female wouldn't want to read about powerful and beautiful women? And the goddess I wanted to read the most about was the Goddess of the Sea, Alcyone. I mean, I loved the sea, so why not read about the goddess of it?

I turned to the indicated page and began reading about the glorious goddess of the seven seas. I read aloud:

"_**Alcyone (or Halcyone) was in Greek mythology a demi-goddess, sometimes regarded as one of the Pleiades. More often she was thought of as the daughter of Aeolus and wife of Ceyx, King of Trachis, a city in southern Thessaly. They were a happy couple, but when Ceyx perished in a shipwreck when he was journeying to the oracle at Delphi, Alcyone threw herself into the sea. Out of pity, the gods changed the pair into kingfishers or halcyons. **_

_**Since Alcyone made her nest on the beach, and waves threatened to destroy it, Zeus forbade the winds to blow and made the waves be calm seven days before and after the winter solstice, the breeding season of the halcyon.**_

_**The kingfisher is thus associated in Greek myth with the winter solstice, and the expression "halcyon days", which comes from this myth, figuratively means a time of peace and tranquility. **_

_**In a less romantic version of the tale, the gods transformed Ceyx into a sea swallow and Alcyone into a kingfisher or halcyon, as a sign of wrath and punishment, since they had dared to compare themselves to Zeus and Hera**__._"

I frowned. What a tragic tale. At a young age, she loses her beloved yet, gains the compassion of the gods and gets turned into a bird. I mean, I guess it wasn't entirely bad. She got to live and had her own private place to nest where no storms could reach her. However, she had lost her lover to the sea she reigned over and was forever to be a bird. I wasn't an expert on love, not even close, but I thought I had a pretty insightful view on it and having to live life without the person you loved the most seemed tragic and anything but lucky.

My light eyes continued to read the rest of the passage while popping a circular milk chocolate Lindt candy into my mouth.

"_**To summon the magic of the sea and her goddess, one must follow these instructions...**_"

I arched a brow. _Wait, what?_ I reread that sentence and it didn't change and below those words were the detailed instructions of how to "summon the magic of the sea and her goddess".

I sat there for a good ten minutes _thinking about it_. Follow the instructions or closed the book with a scoff to never look at it again? Was it true or not?

I made a face. The rational part of my brain was telling me dryly that I needed to close that book right now while laughing because it was ridiculous; magic didn't exist. The inner child in me, so the _irrational_ part of my brain, said simply in fewer words that it could be fun and you knew never 'til you try.

Now, normally I was a pretty rational and logical person yet, when it came to things like that, all rationality and logic went out the window. That was because, as silly as it sounded, I honestly believed in magic. Not like witches' and wizards' magic like_ Harry Potter_, but the magic of life, nature, people, and emotions. Magic like "summoning the magic of the sea and her goddess". That was life and nature.

So guess what I chose?

Duh, I chose to follow the intricate instructions. I mean, what harm could it possibly do? It could be fun and if it did work having the magic of the sea sounded wonderful beyond all belief.

My optics grazed over the instructions.

"_**1. Be near any kind of body of water and make sure the moon is full.**_

_**2. Make a ritual circle of seashells, sand, and hibiscus.**_

_**3. Place a blue candle, can be scented, in the middle and light it.**_

_**4. Once everything is set up, chant these words: "Oh, Great Goddess, Alcyone, I summon you and the seven seas you so dutifully reign over. I summon that you give me a part of your and the seas' strength and power. Let it wash over my body, mind, and soul. Please grant me my wish." Insert your wish here before continuing to say: "In return of said wish, strength, and power, I will forever be your daughter and a child of the ocean."**_

_**5. After chant, take whatever water you are near and sprinkle water of it on the circle.**_

_**6. Also sprinkle water onto the candle, so that it extinguishes. **_

_**7. When flame is out, say: "I am your loyal servant. Thank you, dear Goddess of the Sea, Moon, Tranquility, and Peace, Alcyone.**_"

And that was it.

"Hm," I hummed. "Sounds easy 'nuff. Let's give it go." I smiled. And with that, I stared gathering all of the things I needed for the Goddess Summoning ritual. Thank God I went to the beach a lot, so find such things were no problem at all; I had even found a sea salt scented blue candle--score! And best of all, it was a full moon tonight--maybe I had better luck than I had thought!

Once I had found everything and placed it in a bag, I made my way out of the studio and to the front courtyard that cut the living complexes in half. In the middle of the courtyard was a beautiful stone fountain. One of the things I liked the most of the property I lived on.

The elegantly carved fountain had two levels. The bottom level was where the water resided and sparkled in the moonlight above. The top level was made up of two mermaids crossing each other. Their hands were extends upwards to the Heavens and that was where the water emitted from and into the lower level of the fountain. It was so simple, but I loved it and it was the proper place to do a Goddess Summoning ritual.

Setting the bag down with all my supplies, I knelt down with it and took everything out.

First, I made a ring of sand on the railing of the fountain. Next, using an equal amount of each, I placed seashells and hibiscus flowers on top of the sand making a pattern of them--shell, flower, shell, flower, and so on. After that, I situated the candle in the middle of it. I lit it using the Zippo lighter my mother gave me with my first name "Larissa" engraved in script on it--I didn't smoke, asthma, but my late mother did.

Once everything was set up, I recited the chant that I had memorized right off the bat--I had photographic memory, wished it worked when it came to math and science though--while closing my eyes and raising my arms to the midnight blue skies above, the moon and candlelight casting lights and shadows over me and all around me.

"Oh, Great Goddess, Alcyone, I summon you and the seven seas you so dutifully reign over! I summon that you give me a part of your and the seas' strength and power! Let it wash over my body, mind, and soul! Please grant me my wish!" I exclaimed, making sure my voice was bold and steady.

I opened my eyes to stare up at the rounded pale light in the starry sky, thinking of what I truly wished for. When I searched deeply, I said, "Please, Goddess, I need a change in my life! Any kind of change will do! And with that anything I will take with great courage, maturity, and responsibility! Good or bad!" I made sure I was passionate in my wish, pouring my heart and soul into the words. Then, I finished the rest if the chant that had been written speaking such a steady and bold: "In return of said wish, strength, and power, I will forever be your daughter and a child of the ocean!"

And meant it with every fiber of my being. If such a wish could be granted and a very strong part of me hoped it would, I would be faithful to the Goddess of the Sea. I was faithful now, I was doing a Goddess Summoning ritual now, why should afterwards being any different?

I scooped to handfuls of fountain water, shivering a bit in delight at the coolness of it compared the Spring warmth, and sprinkled it gentle over the ritual circle. Once they were wet, I scooped up more water and sprinkled it delicately over the candle's flame, which smelled so intensely that I felt I was at the ocean--but it could never compare to the actual thing.

In a whisper that time when the ember was completely out and with closed eyes, I said, "I am your loyal servant. Thank you, dear Goddess of the Sea, Moon, Tranquility, and Peace, Alcyone."

When the final words escaped my candy lips, I felt warm all over. Sensations of tickling electricity went through my veins and pleasurable chills ran up and down my spine. I hugged myself, goosebumps rising on my eyes, and I released a content sigh.

I opened my eyes and a tender smile graced my face. I looked at the glistening and rippling water of the fountain than to the moon. I felt tranquil and at peace.

I laughed a bit out loud. I was surrounded by the four things Alcyone was Goddess of--though technically not the sea. Maybe the ritual had worked after all. I didn't feel power and strong, but maybe that had been metaphorical. Either way, I was happy and proud of what I did no matter how childish and foolish it had been.

It had been fun and stress relieving. I felt better than I had all week. And honestly, that was good for me. And if my wish came true well, that would be even better. Awesome even. For now, I was satisfied.

Sighing happily again, I gathered everything--minus the sand, which I knew I couldn't put back in the glass bottle--and put it back into the bag I brought. With that and a big smile on my face, I headed back to my studio apartment.

_My well-deserved change, I patiently wait for you..._


	3. 2: Made For You

_Chapter two, peeps! Normal thanks for those who reviewed and so on—thankies so much! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter. If you do, please REVIEW! Thanks!_

_**Warning:**__** This will be taking place after Curse of the Black Pearl and before Dead Man's Chest. I will be altering their plots to accommodate my story. As well, this story has been inspired by P.C. Cast's novel "Goddess of the Sea" from her "Goddess Summoning" series—check them out!**_

_**Disclaimer:**__** I do NOT Pirates of the Caribbean.**_

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**Chapter Two: Made For You**

The next day, being Saturday, I had woke up early--a thing I hated to do--so I could pack for my two-day vacation to the Jersey Shore. I was grouchy and drowsy getting out of my beloved bed. So drowsy I had managed to fall out of bed mummified by my blankets. Various curses followed afterward. I apologize softly to my mother for using such language after that rant and untangle myself and stand only to stumble hitting my knee against my dresser. More curses. Another apology. And then, I finally went to my bathroom to take a nice, hot shower--nice and steamy just the way I liked it.

Once I was nice and cleansed, I wrapped a fluffy pastel yellow towel around me and stepped out of the bathroom having steam following me out. My bare feet padded across the wooden floor to my bedroom, humming a little tune to myself as I went.

My room wasn't spectacular or even incredibly clean, but it gave off the warm, fuzzy, and welcoming feeling any bedroom so provide for their owner.

There was the normal furnishing: bed, two dressers, mirror, desk, and chair. My desk contained my tiny net-book laptop, homework, school books, and job applications--I needed money desperately. Pictures and posters covered a majority of my walls. There was a single window, that didn't have too much of a view. My bed was unmade, messy from earlier. My iPod lay amongst the sheets--I could not sleep without music. One of my dressers had small nicknacks that something or other to me on top of it, along with a small jewelry box. The other dresser had a long mirror attached to it and on top of it was all of my makeup.

I searched my drawers for a proper outfit today and tomorrow, along with two bathing suits. For today, I had chosen a red and black bikini set with skulls sewn on one of the cups. Over that, I wore a simple black, off-the-shoulders shirt that was slightly midriff and a flowing white gypsy skirt. The other clothes, including under garments and pajamas, were stuffed into a duffel bag. I then, put on some cover-up, light blush, and water-proof mascara--I have water-proof eyeliner, but it was never really water-proof. I didn't bother brushing my hair or blow drying since it was wet and looked better after air drying--or so I've been told. Not to mention, it was just going to get wet again. I just put my hair up in a messy bun, leaving my bangs down. After that, I slipped my mother's engagement ring on a silver chain around my neck, tucking it beneath my shirt.

I looked in my mirror.

A tiny and petite girl of twenty--almost twenty-one--stared back at me. Her tied up, slightly wavy locks reached just shy of her shoulders and were a dirty blonde hue with golden highlights. Bangs from her face, but fell mostly to the right side. Big eyes of blue/green, now a light green because of her outfit, gazed back with mild interest. Very light freckles spread across from cheek to cheek, more were on her bare shoulders. Her skin was light, like freshly-made cream. Each ear was pierced once, but her left cartilage was pierced, too. She was a bit below average in height, but not significantly. However she was significantly below average in her body development; she had small, humble breasts, and barely any hips. That came with the life of being a swimmer and gymnast yet, also because such a life since she was very young, she had well-toned arms, stomach, and legs--things she was very proud of. On her right shoulder-blade was a blue outline tattoo of a very intricate blue herring bird. She couldn't call herself model beautiful, but even she had to admit, she had a face that men would find pleasant and that was enough for her--a while back, she had once thought she was ugly, but times change. If anything, she was cute but only because she was small, had big eyes, and a youthful face.

That was girl was me, Larissa Harper--if you hadn't already guessed--but to most people, I was just known as Harper and honestly, I preferred people call me by my surname. I even introduced myself as such, so more often than not people didn't know my name was Larissa.

Anyway, after I fiddled my bangs a little, I returned to packing the things I was going to need for my trip. I packed towels, my iPod, feminine products in case I got my special friend (I better not), make-up, hairbrush, sunglasses, sunscreen, my reading glasses, a book, toothbrush, toothpaste, wallet, money, and so on so forth.

Once I checked that I had everything at least time, I slipped on a pair of brown moccasins, slung my bag over my shoulders, slipped on my sunglasses, and headed out the door, locking it behind me. I headed to the parking lot and went to my precious black Honda Civic--it was old and used, but my, God did I love it.

"Hey, Kylie baby," I greeted the vehicle, patting her hood. Yes, I named my car! It was my baby! "Missed Mommy?" I smiled widely. "Well, guess what? We're going to beach! Field trip time!"

Yes, I'm crazy. Leave me alone.

I unlocked my car and slid into the driver's seat, tossing my bag on the passenger seat. I placed the key in the ignition and turned, bringing the car to life. I beamed a wonderfully she purred. Old and used, but she ran beautifully. The guy who sold me to her was a total idiot.

I pulled out of the parking and took off, a huge grin on my face.

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I wasn't very religious or anything—like my grandfather was—but when I saw the beach and the ocean, I gave a little a prayer of thanks to God or to whoever had created such beauty. The minute I parked and stepped onto the Wildwood boardwalk, my breath was taken away by how majestic the scenery was—like it always was. And what was even better was since it wasn't really beach season, barely anyone was around, just the way I liked it.

I leisurely strolled the boardwalk, staring out at the sparkling ocean while greeting those opening their shops that I knew. The mid morning sun shined down at me being just the right temperature, warming my skin and brightening my mood further. I couldn't wait to go swimming, sunbathing, just walk along the shore, shopping, and/or build a sandcastle, but first I had to find a place a stay. Thus, I walked to the hotel I usually stayed at.

After finally finding it, I walked inside and went up to the counter. I beamed when I recognized the back of the redhead working behind it talking on the phone—most likely someone calling for a room or a cancellation.

"Hey, sexy. How's it's hanging?" I feigned a sexy purr, trying to hold back a laugh.

Slowly, the young man turned his head towards me, his face redder than his hair. Then, his brown eyes widened and goofy smile appeared. Giggling, I waved, resting my elbows on the shiny counter. He gave me a "one minute" sign before returning to the phone to finish up his conversation with whoever he had been talking too quickly. The freckled male turned and came up to the counter, smiling joyously.

"Harper! It's been so long! How have you been?" he greeted me, leaning on the counter like me.

"Too long, Jake, and I've been good. How 'bout you?" I brushed my bangs from my face.

Jacob or Jake McDonald was a guy I had known for a good while now; I had known him since the first time I came to Wildwood alone back during my senior of high school. He was a sweet guy, an incredibly sweet guy. Cute, too. His floppy and messy hair was a dark red, almost auburn and his eyes were the color of honey. Apparent freckles painted his baby face, mostly because of the sun, which he got a lot of. Jake was a surfer of sorts and a really good one at that. The hotel was owned by his parents, so naturally he worked there, especially during the summer. It sounded vain, but I felt like the guy was sweet on me and I guess, I was kind of sweet on him too, but all we did was harmless flirting—I did that with all my friends, minus the girls.

"Better now." Jake gave me a boyish grin. I smiled back, a bit sheepishly with light pink cheeks—he was such a sweetheart. "So what are you doing here? It's kind of early for you to be coming up here."

"Oh, God. Dude, I had to get the hell out of Pennsylvania. School, friends, family, all horrible right now." I sighed deeply with a roll of my eyes, free of my sunglasses which were on top of my head. "Needed to getaway and what better place to go than the beach, right?"

"Right!" he chuckled, his eyes twinkling. His expression softened. "Sorry, life's been suckin' for ya, though."

"Eh," I shrugged carelessly. "No biggie." _Besides, if the ritual worked last night, I won't have to worry about stuff like that anymore. At least for a little while._, I added to myself.

"Want your same room then?"

"Please? I'm sorry I didn't call in ahead, but this was kind of a last minute decision."

Jake laughed. "No probs, Harper. Mom and Pop adore you, they never rent your room out to anyone."

I grinned. "You and your parents are the best, Jake. Thank you so much."

He just smiled and took out the register book. He told me the price of the room, which was discounted from the original price between it was out of tourist season and because I was a regular customer. I paid and wrote my name down and took my room key from him. With that and a grateful thanks, I started to walk away, but Jake's voice called me back. Arching a brow, I peered over my slender shoulder at him.

He was blushing and looked a bit flustered. "Um...uh...I get off of work at six...do you er...wanna go surfing with me and then, maybe get some dinner? L-Like as friends…?" he asked, trying to meet my eyes, but was having difficulty. That last part he added a bit too quickly.

Gently, I smiled. He really was cute and I did like him. Maybe as only a friend, but a good friend was something I could use right now and who better than a really cute guy, who I got along well with?

"Sure," I shrugged, still grinning. "Why not?"

His entire face lit up. "Awesome! See you at six!"

I laughed. "Right. See you then. Meet me here in the lobby 'cuz I don't know where I'll be coming from around that time."

"No prob. Later, Harper."

"Later."

With that, I turned and made my way through the lobby to the elevator. I rose it up to the second floor where my room resided.

Since I had a lot of time on my hands until my "date" with Jake and I didn't quite feel like going swimming or anything like that just yet, I decided to do some shopping—I had save quite a bit of cash from my last job, so why not go on a bit of a spree?

I passed some of the usual stores, window shopping for anything I actually wanted to purchase. I made small talk with the shop owners I knew, feeling bad when I didn't buy anything from them. I kept walking until a shop I had never seen before—and I was pretty sure I had seen and recognized them all—and my brows furrowed. It was an antique jewelry shop.

I stared at it for a moment, contemplating whether or not to enter. I wasn't a huge person on jewelry, only wearing earrings and my mother's ring, that was it. That was only because I thought most jewelry nowadays was overrated, overpriced, and was too "blinged" out—that's right, I said "blinged". Such things totally turned me off from jewelry, but antique jewelry wasn't entirely like that or from what I imagined from movies, books, and stuff.

Nevertheless, I was about to turn away and continued onward until I was stopped by a grandmotherly voice calling out to me, "Wait, dear."

I turned back to see a plump and stout middle-aged—maybe elderly—woman with a kind and gracefully aged face. Her dark hair was graying, her eyes were bright and light, and her wrinkled skin was tanned, so she must've lived around there.

"Uh...hi." I greeted hesitantly.

She smiled at me, showing that a few of her teeth were missing. "Hello, child. Would like to come in?" she asked sweetly, her voice having an accent I couldn't quite depict. Maybe somewhere from the Caribbean.

"Well...I was just uh, passing by and I--" I began, motioning with my hands that I was planning on walking away, but from the tender and inviting expression on her face, I couldn't bring myself to finish. Sighing deeply, cursing my weakness for children, animals, and kind elderly people, I placed on a polite smile. "Yeah, I'll come in."

"Lovely. Come, come." The older female motioned me inside her shop and I had no choice but to follow her through red wooden door. Inwardly, I was deeply again saying to myself, _I need a smaller or at least colder heart..._

The place was dark, only being lit by the sun seeping through the slight dusty windows—that I found strange because the shop had to new since I didn't remember it from the last time I had been to Wildwood--and from the candles lit and set up in different places about the shop. Everything old, but I guess that was on purpose. Various jewelry—necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, broaches, and etc.--line the walls and filled counters, all encased in glass and resting on red velvet. I had to admit the place looked really cool, but I was sure I wasn't going to buy anything.

"What is your name, dear?" the elderly store owner asked me pleasantly from beneath the main counter.

I reverted my attention to her from a bunch of earrings on the all nearest to me. "Harper." I answered automatically.

She stared at me through her spectacles almost as if she was studying me. "Why do you use your surname when you have such a lovely first one?" she questioned curiously.

At first, it didn't processed in my head what she had said as it was something I had not expected. When it had finally registered, all I could say stupidly, "Wha-What?" How did she know that I had used my last name?

She just smiled again, almost jokingly, not answering my question and changing the subject. "Now, is there anything you wish to purchase, Miss. Harper?"

My greenish-blue spheres narrowed at her suspiciously before I replied guardedly, "Not really. I was just looking." She was the one who invited me and I had only been there for no more than a minute, what made her think I knew what I wanted or if I wanted anything at all?

"Come here." she motioned me over. Cautiously, I stepped across the wooden floor to her. She placed her cold, boney hands on my cheeks and it took everything in my power to not slap her hands and pull away—I didn't like being touched really. I only twitched and watched her closely as her eyes searched my face intently.

She smiled softly and retreated her hands. "You are a special one, aren't you?" she asked.

"Uh..." How was one supposed to react to that? Be modest and say "No, I'm just ordinary" or laugh and sarcastically say, "Oh, yeah, I'm special all right!" Neither sounded like me yet, nothing else came out of my mouth.

"You are in the favor of the sea goddess." the store clerk told me.

A soft gasp emitted from me as I stared down at her with wide eyes. "Ex-Excuse me?" I choked out.

Again, she smiled and didn't answer my inquiry before turning around and disappearing into the back of her shop. Blinking furiously, I watched her go, frozen to my spot. I didn't know whether to stay or go. The woman was creeping me out by her knowledge that she shouldn't have, which meant I should leave as soon as possible, but my feet wouldn't move. Something inside me was telling me that I needed to know why she knew what she knew and why she had gone to the back room for.

I _reeeeeeeeeeeally_ hated being indecisive.

Before I could finally move my feet, the tiny female wattle back holding a small, rectangular, navy blue velvet box. I eyed her and it warily. She was still smiling and approached me. She owned the box and revealed what was inside to me.

My breath was taken away.

It was like seeing the ocean itself in necklace form. The long silver chain-link was thin, but strong and slightly rusty. Hanging in the middle of the chain was a swirling jewel—like a wave or a whirlpool imitation—that was a beautiful combination of blues and greens—there so many hues of each color. The sun hit it making it glisten just like the sun did upon the sea. I loved it.

The woman must've noticed my awestruck expression because said tenderly, "It's lovely, isn't it?"

"...W-Words don't even be-begin to describe how beautiful it is." I breathed.

She took it out of its box and placed it carefully over my head. "It's yours."

"Oh, no! I-I couldn't possibly! I don't have the money!" I sputtered, starting to take it off. It had to cost a fortune, something that gorgeous.

She stopped me, gently pulling my hands away and holding them. "It's free, child."

"But--" I started to protest.

"Dear, it is clear that this piece was made for you. It would be a shame if you did not have it."

"But--"

"Please, do it for this old woman."

I bit my lip and searched her face. Once more my weakness for the elderly took over. I sighed deeply and nodded, smiling weakly. "Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much, ma'am." I said, more than appreciative of the glorious gift.

She smiled and squeezed my hands affectionately. "You are very welcome. Now, go, your destiny awaits you Daughter of the Sea." she shooed me out of her shop.

"Wha-What?" I asked. What was _that_ supposed to mean? Daughter of the Sea? My destiny?

But I never did get my answer. Instead of one—AGAIN—the woman smiled—AGAIN—and closed the door behind me leaving me to stand on the boardwalk. I blinked, feeling more flabbergasted than I had ever felt in my entire life—even more so than when I tried to do Trigonometry.

_**What**__ just happened?_


	4. Author's Note

Hey, everyone, I would like to apologize for the extremely long wait for this story, but it may be a little bit while longer until I can update. And that would be because my laptop has a virus and will not permit me access to the internet. I'm using my great-aunt's computer right now, but I can't upload my stories to it or write on it since my guardian uses it more often than not for work. I am very sorry for this inconvenience. I really am. However, the minute I get my internet access back, I will be upload new chapters, be rest assured since I am still writing them. Thank you for reading and I apologize again.


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